5 Nutrients You Should Focus on After Having a Baby

Alright the secret is out! After months of hard work, Chris and I of Simple Start Nutrition are baby steps away from launching our self pace course “Nutrition and Healthy Habits for New Moms: A Simple Guide to Fuel your Recovery.”  We cover TONS of useful material starting with basic nutrition knowledge, to keeping it simple with snacks and meals, and ending with the specific nutrients needed for your body to recover successfully.  

That being said, during our self pace course we cover 10 different nutrients that promote a successful recovery after having your cute little one.  Today we will cover 5 of those nutrients to get your feet wet (and excited for our course!) with the other 5 nutrients in another blog coming soon! 

Iron

What does it do? 

Iron is a mineral needed to support growth and development, is used to make hemoglobin and myoglobin (to help transport oxygen), and is used to make hormones. It also is necessary for physical growth, neurological development and cellular functioning.  

Where do you get it? 

Some high iron containing foods you can include in your diet are: breakfast cereal that are fortified with 100% of the daily value or DV for iron, oysters, white beans, beef liver, lentils, spinach and tofu.  

Vitamin C 

What does it do? 

Vitamin C is also known as ascorbic acid.  It is required to make certain neutrotransmitters, involved in protein metabolism and used to make collagen, which is essential component of connective tissues.  This is vital for would healing (let’s heal up!). It is also an important antioxidant and plays a role in our immune function (no new mom wants to be sick on top of all that comes along with being a new mom…).  

Where do you get it? 

Some foods that are packed with vitamin C are: red and green peppers, orange juice and oranges, grape fruit, kiwi and broccoli.  

Fun Fact! 

Iron absorption in the body can be helped by pairing an iron packed food with a vitamin C powerhouse. So iron + vitamin C = better absorption.  Your pairings might be lentils and peppers or orange juice with your cereal.  Get what I’m doing here? 

Zinc

What does it do? 

Zinc is a mineral used for cellular metabolism and plays a role in enhancing function, protein and DNA synthesis, wound healing and cell signaling/division.  Zinc is necessary for healthy growth and development during pregnancy, infancy, childhood and adolescence. 

Where do you get it? 

Top foods to stock up on zinc from are: oysters, beef (bottom sirloin roast), blue crabs, breakfast cereal fortified with 25% of the DV for zinc, oats, pumpkin seeds. 

Fun fact! 

The easiest way to boost your zinc intake is through cereal.  Shredded Wheat has 20% daily value per serving, Multigrain Cheerios have 100% DV per serving and Bran Flakes have 25% DV per serving.  

Copper 

What does it do? 

Copper is a mineral essential for brain development. It plays a role in making energy, connective tissues and blood vessels and it also is necessary to maintain nervous and immune systems and activates genes. 

Where do you get it? 

Top foods to get your copper in from are: beef liver, eastern oysters, baking chocolate (unsweetened), cooked potatoes (with skin), shitake mushrooms, cashew nuts, Dungeness crab, sunflower seeds.  

Folate 

What does it do?

Folate, also known as B9, is a water-soluble vitamin involved in metabolism of amino acids or the building blocks of cells.  Folate is essential for DNA creation and necessary cell division and growth (prevents neural tube defects).  

Where do you get it? 

High folate containing foods are: beef liver, spinach, black eyed pea, breakfast cereal fortified with 25% of the DV, white rice, asparagus, brussels sprouts. 

Fun facts!

Folic acid is a synthetic form of folate that is used in fortified foods and most supplements. The name folate comes from the Latin word “folium” meaning leaf. Leafy vegetables are among the best sources of folate. 

Remember this blog today only touches on 5 of the 10 nutrients our course, “Nutrition and Healthy Habits for New Moms: A Simple Guide to Fuel your Recovery” covers, with another blog AND the launch of our course coming soon! 

So if you’re interested for yourself or someone you know that you think this would help (yes, you can gift the course to someone!) stay tuned to our emails and social media posts. If you keep your eye out there might even be a discount code coming!!

Cheers to you and your recovery momma, 

This blog was written by Amanda J. Stahl, RD, LDN, co-founder of Simple Start Nutrition.  For more blog posts and nutrition information follow @simplestartnutrition on Instagram and Facebook.  Also feel free to contact us, by visiting our website (simplestartnutrition.com) to schedule an appointment to discuss your nutrition related needs.  

Reference: 

https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/list-all/